


Forbidden Love

by ghoulshuu



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: M/M, Rivals, restaurant AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-13
Updated: 2015-07-13
Packaged: 2018-04-09 02:32:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4330476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghoulshuu/pseuds/ghoulshuu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The MxMonald's across the alley has a new worker. <br/>Oh no. <br/>He's cute.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Forbidden Love

**Author's Note:**

> [Based off this post.](http://blackberrymilkshake.tumblr.com/post/121185929798/oikawa-saan-blackberrymilkshake-oikawa-saan) Thank you to everyone letting me use the headcanons. This is also kind of inspired by the Devil is a Part Timer.
> 
> [For blackberrymilkshake!](http://blackberrymilkshake.tumblr.com)

It was too fucking hot. Between wasting absolutely no time flipping the burgers and putting another tray of fries in the deep fryer, Hide had somehow managed to open the window, allowing some of the heat and the awful stench of grease to escape. The air conditioner? Working. But on the other side of the restaurant where the patrons were. And with the poor air circulation between the serving area and the kitchen… tough luck. For Hide at least, who felt the worst of it, being in the back with all the appliances.

As he waited to take the burgers off, he resisted the urge to stick his whole head out the window. He didn’t need his manager yelling at him for his conduct. All he could do was stare outside and yearn for when his shift was over and the time he would get paid the next week.

Oh yes, and stare at the MxMonald’s just across the back lane.

He stared out of boredom, expecting to see the same grumpy dude he usually did and maybe even be lucky enough to hear curses and complaints spit out, but not today. Instead, there was someone else.

_Oh no. He’s cute._

Touka, MxMonald’s manager, appeared to be showing him the ropes. Well, more like ordering him what to do in that very delicate way she had. It was her ‘takes no shit’ attitude that landed her that position at such a young age after all. The cutie was taking it well, smiling awkwardly all the way through and nodding his head.

Touka wasn’t too bad. Hide had met her on a few occasions and he only got death glares about half the time. She could be rude, but was always kind to customers and protected her staff like they were her own family. She was a force to be reckoned with.

She stood by him the whole time, making sure he knew what was doing and wouldn’t hurt himself cooking anything. Good for him, he seemed to be a fast learner and it wasn’t too long before Touka went back to her own job.

He was smiling to himself, completely focused on his work… that is until he began to make some strange faces and pivoted to inspect the window.

Hide guessed that since the establishments had similar layouts, they also carried the same problems. It must have been just as hot there, as it was where Hide was.

Hide gave a small wave to catch the cutie’s attention, his brow furrowing as he struggled to open the window, face expressing satisfaction and relief once it lifted with a loud screech even Hide could hear.

The first rush of the day was about to start and Hide quickly caught the cutie’s eye again with a dramatic point and a serious expression and mouthed, ‘ _you’re going down’._

The guy gazed cautiously and brought his spatula to his chest, almost in an act of defense, making Hide wince. _Ah fuck. He misunderstood._ He shook his head and grinned, holding both palms up in peace. The cutie hesitantly went back to work, keeping Hide in the corner of his eye with a small smile playing on his lips.

After a few more minutes in the awful heat, Touka strolled up to Kaneki, tapping him on the shoulder lightly. She was most likely checking up on how he was doing. Hide would have caught her attention and teased her, but she probably had enough on her plate that day. He definitely didn’t want to accidentally piss her off. That wouldn’t go over well for anyone.

A few hours later Hide’s shift was over and he was finally able to get home to somewhere with proper air conditioning. And a cold shower? Yeah. He definitely needed one of those. Bad.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of blue as the cutie threw his sweater of his shoulder. He was… going the same way Hide was. Hide walked for about a minute before his brain started to go off. If he turned and saw him, would he think Hide was following him home? Oh god. No. Touka would beat his ass.

“Hey!” Hide called, jogging to catch up to him, grinning.

The man seemed to be startled and nearly dropped the bag he was holding “Y-yes?”

“You’re new at the MxMonald’s, right? My name’s Hide!” Hide slowed as the man stopped walking.

He was frowning. “You’re the weird guy from the Burger Lord across the alley.” He fidgeted as Hide waited for him to continue patiently. “Oh… I’m Kaneki.”

“Nice to meet you Kaneki!” Hide threw his arms behind his head as he began walking, Kaneki following awkwardly after him. “I was already going this way, so I thought it would be nice to have some company on my way home. Don’t you agree?”

“Uh…” Kaneki tiredly gawked at him from the corner of his eyes. “Sure.”

“Oh! Come on! Don’t be like that! Just because we’re rivals at work doesn’t mean we can’t be friends! Just like me and Touka!”

“Touka said you were a loud and obnoxious.” Kaneki covered his mouth as soon as he finished speaking, embarrassed.

Hide grinned! “Yep!” He waggled his eyebrows and finally got a genuine smile from Kaneki, who chuckled quietly to himself. “Oh! This is me.” Hide made a few large bounds to his front door, throwing a sly smirk in Kaneki’s direction. “By the way! I flipped _fifty_ more burgers than you today! Step up if you want to keep up!”

He had closed his front door before Kaneki could retort. Shower, here he came.

…

So maybe MxMonald’s sold more burgers than Burger Lord the next day. And more fries. Which made Hide aggressively curse under his breath as he walked beside a smug Kaneki on his way home. “I’ll beat you tomorrow.” He mumbled, “I’ll definitely beat you tomorrow.”

“Keep telling yourself that.” Kaneki muttered, “Maybe it will actually happen.”

“Oh shush. You are going _down_.”

And so a pattern formed. Hide somehow managed to sweep Kaneki up in his aggressive competition, and on their way home, they would argue over numbers and sales. Kaneki could get heated in his debates sometimes, cheeks red from the heat and Hide would almost collapse in giggles. It was ridiculous, but fun.

Kaneki was taken off cooking for a while. He reported to Touka that something seemed wrong with the deepfryer and she spent the day looking after things and calling a repairperson. Hide decided it wouldn’t be in his interests to tease her like he teased Kaneki then. That’s when his manager, Amon, tapped him on the shoulder. “Hide. We got a problem.”

“Hmm? What is it?” Hide asked, frowning.

Amon pointed out the window. “Do you see that?”

“Looks like Kaneki handing out coupons.”

“Who –? Never mind. Look, we need someone out there. MxMonald’s is reeling too many of _our_ customers.” Hide put down his utensils and Amon shoved a couple handfuls of coupons in his arms. “You’re a people person, right? Now bring us some business.”

“Gladly!” Hide mock saluted him and made is way out to where Kaneki was. He slapped him on the shoulder, making him almost drop all his coupons.

“Hide!” He whined, holding them close to his chest. “What are you doing?” He held out a coupon to a lady who was passing, smiling softly when she took it.

Hide grinned at him. “Excuse me sir!” Kaneki watched at him as he gave his marketing spiel and a coupon, soon after catching the attention of another potential customer. After a few more minutes, he nudged Kaneki. “Hey. How many have you handed out?”

“Uh – twenty one.”

Hide raised his eyebrows. “I’m at one.” He waved away Kaneki’s ‘ _yeah, I know’,_ and thought hard, rubbing his chin with his free hand. “I’ve got a good idea.”

Kaneki sighed in exasperation.

“The loser buys the other some lunch. Yeah?” Oh please let this work.

“Fine.” Kaneki stated with frustration. “Why are you obsessed with this rivalry thing anyway?”

“Wha?” Hide shook his head dramatically. “Kaneki, how could you ask such a thing? – Ah – Hey!” Hide gaped as a purple haired lady took one of Kaneki’s coupons. “Don’t be fooled by his cuteness! He’s really _mean! Especially to me!_ ”

“ _Hide! Don’t do that. You’ll –“_

“Do you see? Don’t let him fool you with his charming words! Don’t look into his eyes! That’s how he gets you!”

“Hide.”

“Please take a Burger Lord Coupon! At Burger Lord we ensure quality, kindness and trustworthiness.”

“No!” Kaneki cried, scowling. “I know he’s handsome, but he never has any idea what he’s talking about. MxMonald’s is clearly the better choice! Please just take my coupon instead!”

The lady ended up grabbing one of Hide’s coupons as well.

“Oh, so you think I’m handsome, do you?” Hide grinned, fanning himself with the coupons.

“Oh – shut it!” Kaneki turned his back to Hide, desperately trying to get rid of more of his coupons and ignore the occasional jab in his side when there were no pedestrians walked past.

He did do his best to ignore him, but he was just so loud, and when he began talking to someone again, Kaneki couldn’t help but turn and get some revenge. “Don’t listen to his seductive words! I know he looks like a playboy with that hair, but – uh… uh…” He really should have thought his words through.

“AHHH!” Hide yelled. “See, see? Don’t you see? Don’t let his adorableness get to you!”

Kaneki hid his face in his hands, groaning until the potential customer left. At that point, Hide started laughing uncontrollably.

“Really? You think I’m sexy?” Hide stopped marketing to touch Kaneki’s hands, which were still clasped over his face.

“I never said that.” Kaneki mumbled.

“Ah. But it was implied, no?” Hide dropped his hands and waited for Kaneki to do the same. When he did, Hide checked his watch. “You know, I meant it when I said you were cute! And – lucky me! Now I get to take you out for lunch!”

Hide was all bouncy. He in no way regretted losing, especially with Kaneki all blushy and agreeing to meet Hide for some coffee and sandwiches on their day off.

…

“Kaneki, I will not, ever in whole entire life, try a MxMonald’s burger.” Hide munched on the sandwich he bought himself, chasing it down with a large amount of coffee. He hardly got any sleep the night before. He was too excited.

“But hear me out –“

“ _Noooo!”_ Hide covered his ears and shook his head furiously as Kaneki tried to shush him, giggling to himself.

“Don’t get us kicked out!” Kaneki couldn’t reach him from all the way across the table, so he settled for grabbing the sleeve of his sweater and shaking his arm lightly to get his attention. “I swear Hide…”

Hide stopped his motions and took Kaneki’s hand in his. The weight of Hide’s hand of Kaneki’s was warm and reassuring. Oh no and his eyes were so beautiful. When the sun from the window hit them, he could see the little flecks of gold lighting them up. He was staring at him – and _oh_ it was because _Kaneki_ was staring so much, wasn’t it?

Kaneki tucked his chin down, but let Hide keep holding his wrist with that same crocodile grin spread across his face. “Good espresso here,” Kaneki muttered.

“Ah really? I usually drink my coffee with a lot of sugar. Mind if I have a taste?” Hide raised his eyebrows and bit his lip.

“Geez, you’re so cheesy… Sure…” Kaneki leaned halfway over the table. It was awkward, but it would work.

Hide chortled. “Oh my – I meant a sip from your cup, but how can I pass up such an opportunity?”

Before Kaneki could pull away in mortification, Hide covered the rest of the distance, pressing their lips together firmly. Hide’s palm cupped Kaneki’s cheek as he pulled back to breathe.

“And you call me mean? You never stop teasing me.”

“Well you are my rival. We’re like… modern day Romeo and Juliet.” Hide waved his free hand in the air, looking at Kaneki expectantly.

“Hide… do you even know how Romeo and Juliet ended?” Kaneki’s lips twitched in amusement.

“Nah – I mean, I never finished reading it in class, so…”

Kaneki snorted and laid his hand over Hide’s. “Let’s try to not be like Romeo and Juliet, okay?”

**Author's Note:**

> [My Tumblr](http://attackonhunter.tumblr.com)


End file.
